Water Mission was honored to serve more than 1.4 million men, women, and children in 2021. 

Because of partners like you who have come alongside us, more than 1 million people have access to safe water. In addition, 30,000 people received sanitation solutions, such as latrines at home, in their medical facilities, or at school. More than 90,000 people are benefitting from the health and protection that comes from hygiene solutions like handwashing stations and community training. With your help, we’ve also served more than 265,000 survivors of 10 disasters around the world. Throughout all our work as a safe water charity, we were committed to showing God’s love to those in need. 

Every individual who gains access to safe water represents a victory in the fight against the global water crisis. They also are examples of God’s faithfulness and love, as you can see in the people and communities highlighted below. 

Improving Health Conditions for Patients, Healthcare Workers, and Communities 

Providing safe water to healthcare clinics is an ongoing priority for Water Mission. Mothers and their newborn babies in Chiwe, Malawi, were among those who benefited from a Water Mission safe water solution in their local healthcare center. It enabled expectant moms to deliver their babies close to home instead of traveling miles away while in labor. Read more here. 

Supporting Children and Their Families 

Of course, children need access to safe water well beyond infancy. For many years in Kavingoni Yeemulwa, Kenya, school-aged children missed classes and couldn’t keep up with their education due to the time spent collecting water. Unfortunately, this water was contaminated water and often made the kids too sick to attend school. Then Water Mission installed a safe water solution with seven water access points, including at the local school. The project serves 2,700 people and helps to keep children and their families healthy. Read more here.   

Safeguarding Community Members 

In Mexico, the families of Francisco Madero faced similar problems to those in Kavingoni Yeemulwa. One couple, Hipolito and Martha Avila, saw firsthand the negative impact of using contaminated water. This was especially true for the most vulnerable community members, the elderly and children—including Hipolito and Martha’s children. The sustainable safe water solution Water Mission and our partner Iglesia Solo Cristo Salva y Sana (Only Christ Heals and Saves Church) installed has given new life to this community, serving more than 1,500 people. Read more here. 

Strengthening Safe Water Systems After Natural Disaster 

On top of the everyday challenges of accessing clean, safe water, communities throughout the Bahamas experienced massive flooding and destruction after 2019’s Hurricane Dorian. At the time, Water Mission installed four reverse osmosis (RO) systems, designed by Parker Hannifin, to meet the dire need for safe water. In 2021, we installed a fifth RO system at Rand Memorial Hospital, the country’s second-largest public health facility, meeting the dire need for healthcare workers to access safe water. These RO systems, installed above flood level and able to purify salty water, ensure that clean, safe water is available even in the event of another natural disaster. Read more here. 

Disaster Response Following Artic Storms in Texas 

When winter storms swept across Texas in February, record-shattering cold temperatures caused pipes to freeze, leaving half the population without access to safe water. Water Mission sent skilled volunteer plumbers and provided emergency plumbing supplies to restore safe water access in the homes of vulnerable homeowners like Anna Margaret, a single mother. Read more here.  

Recovering and Healing 

Recovering in the aftermath of a traumatic event is about physical survival—and also about emotional and spiritual healing. Refugees, especially those escaping war-torn areas, need this healing. To assist the many people pouring into a large refugee settlement in Uganda, Water Mission partnered with local pastors and church leaders. These faith leaders were trained as biblical trauma healing facilitators who can effectively counsel and encourage those in their communities, helping refugees and other community members hope again. Read more here. 

Hope for the Future 

Where would we be without the hope of Christ to guide us? The hope of the Living Water, Jesus Christ, guided our work in 2021. Please join us in praying for the 2.2 billion people still awaiting safe water. There is more to be done, and we look to God’s providence to guide us in this continuing journey. 

 Pray with Us 

The post 2021 Snapshot: Serving 1.4 Million People with Safe Water and More  appeared first on Water Mission.

Since 2001, supporters like you have helped Water Mission serve more than 7 million people across 57 countries with lasting safe water, sanitation, and hygiene solutions. More importantly, the Living Water message has brought hope and transformed lives around the world. The following timeline highlights key milestones of the Water Mission story you have helped make possible.

The post 20 Years of Transforming Lives appeared first on Water Mission.

Originally published on April 19, 2021 by Global Washington. Written by David Inman, PE; Global Partnerships Senior WASH Technical Advisor at Water Mission. 

Despite global efforts to provide water and sanitation solutions to healthcare facilities, almost 2 billion people worldwide depend on healthcare facilities without basic water services. As a nonprofit Christian engineering organization that designs, builds, and implements water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) solutions, Water Mission is working to serve vulnerable communities through sustained WASH provision. Our work to provide WASH in healthcare facilities around the world includes advocating for patient care, equipping frontline workers, strengthening health systems, and providing engineering expertise.  

Advocating for patient care and safety: Improved maternal and infant health in Malawi

Safe water, functioning toilets, and soap must be present in all hospitals and health clinics to ensure the delivery of safe and dignified care. These fundamental resources help protect women and newborns during childbirth, allow for safe surgery, prevent antibiotic resistance, and contain pandemics. Every infection prevented is one that needs no treatment, causes no suffering, and imposes no economic burden.  

Water Mission’s work to provide safe water to healthcare facilities helps raise the standard of care for patients. These efforts also increase a community’s confidence in the facility’s services.   

When patients lack confidence in the safety of their healthcare center, they may avoid getting the help they need. The consequences can be dire. One example is the impact that lack of adequate care can have on mothers and newborns. When maternity care is unsafe or unavailable, women travel long distances to seek medical assistance or give birth at home without the aid of a skilled birth attendant. Unwashed hands, contaminated linens, unsafe water, and dirty instruments can transmit easily preventable, and sometimes deadly, infections to mothers and newborns.  

Chiwe Health Center is a facility that serves 11,000 men, women, and children in the central region of Malawi. “Women used to travel over three miles to the nearest facility to deliver babies because such a service was not available at this facility,” Rick Kavolo, a healthcare worker at Chiwe Health Center, told us. “Some women were forced to deliver their babies along the way.”  Then Water Mission installed a safe water system in Chiwe. It was finally able to offer maternity services. “The water system has changed our lives forever,” says Kavolo. 

COVID-19 response

When COVID-19 began making its way around the world, Water Mission’s global staff quickly scaled up program efforts to provide handwashing stations, sanitation supplies, hygiene training, and COVID-19 awareness education. We provided critical hygiene supplies, such as safe water and soap, to more than 800,000 people around the world. We also installed more than 8,550 handwashing stations in key locations, including healthcare facilities, schools, and existing safe water collection points in Haiti, Honduras, Indonesia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Peru, Malawi, Mexico, and the Bahamas. To date, this program has equipped nearly 1,000 healthcare facilities with handwashing stations and training materials, ensuring that frontline workers are better equipped and protected as they carry out their critical work.   

A systems strengthening approach that protects patients and frontline workers

Efforts to improve health outcomes can only be sustained by continued investments in strengthening the overall health system. This, in turn, must include initiatives to improve access to adequate WASH services in healthcare facilities.  

Providing safe water to healthcare clinics is an ongoing priority for Water Mission. In partnership with UNICEF and others, Water Mission provided safe water treatment systems to more than 25 hospitals, healthcare centers, and treatment units in Liberia between 2014 and 2018. This work started during our emergency response to the Ebola epidemic. Our efforts continued with the Ministry of Health as part of its systems–strengthening approach to help better prepare Liberia for future outbreaks.  

Dr. Jeffery Deal, retired director of health studies for Water Mission, traveled to Liberia during the Ebola outbreak in 2014.  He spent time in hospitals and treatment centers that were struggling to care for patients suffering from Ebola—especially without access to safe water. Upon his return, Dr. Deal later reflected on his experience:    

“As a physician, I’ve worked in difficult circumstances around the world combatting epidemics of meningitis, cholera, malaria, and Ebola. My most vivid memories are from the time I spent during the height of the Ebola epidemic where doctors and nurses in Liberia did not have reliable, accessible safe water. Once, one of the units where I was working lacked sufficient water so that I could properly decontaminate my hazmat suit after working a shift…. Clearly, clean safe water is as important as the protective gear workers wear as they provide safe and dignified care.” 

– Dr. Jeffery Deal 

Doctors, nurses, midwives, aids, and those tasked with cleaning healthcare facilities must stay healthy. This is particularly true during a disease outbreak. WASH in healthcare facilities is foundational to preventing and containing epidemics and pandemics—and is required for global stability and economic growth.  

A more recent example of a systems strengthening effort during COVID-19 is when Water Mission’s Tanzania program worked together with the Tanzania Ministry of Health to implement robust handwashing stations at more than 560 of their clinics throughout the country.  The Minister of Health, Ummy Mwalimi shared her thoughts on the importance of this program, “The biggest thing that health professionals need to focus on is to ensure that they wash their hands to prevent contracting and transmitting infectious diseases. This initiative by Water Mission’s program in Tanzania ensures that happens.” 

Applying engineering expertise to respond to WASH needs in healthcare facilities

Understanding and meeting the requirements for adequate WASH facilities, practices, and infrastructure in healthcare centers is a complex effort. It combines knowledge and best practices from multiple disciplines, including public health, behavioral science, chemistry, microbiology, engineering, and education.  For instance, water quality requirements in a healthcare center can vary based on its specific end use. Adhering to safe water requirements as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) is a good starting point. Healthcare centers serve vulnerable populations, so multi-barrier treatment methodologies for water that combine multi-stage filtration processes and disinfection by both chemical and physical means are often appropriate. It is also important to conduct a thorough water quality and risk analysis of the water source to properly define a treatment plan.  

More specific water quality requirements are further defined by medical equipment manufacturers. A good example are autoclaves used to disinfect medical instruments. These require water treated to remove minerals and other dissolved contaminants that can harm the equipment.

Medical instrument disinfection, laundering, and food preparation areas also require a thorough and comprehensive WASH plan to function well and serve the end-users. The first step is a technical assessment of baseline conditions in healthcare centers. From there, action plans can be developed to address gaps. WHO and UNICEF have developed a useful guide to aid in the assessment and WASH planning process for healthcare facilities. 

Water Mission implements best in class WASH solutions that address healthcare facilities’ needs. For instance, a disinfection system we use in our programs around the world is the Water Mission erosion chlorinator. This device adds free chlorine residual to water as it is pumped from a groundwater source and stored in a tank, ensuring that all water distributed through taps and faucets is safe. With this solution, there is no need to batch-mix chlorine solutions every day, which can lead to inconsistent results. Instead, the device is simply refilled with chlorine tablets every few weeks. 

For water sources with variable turbidity, Water Mission may use a multi-stage treatment system that includes flocculation, filtration, and chlorine disinfection. Many times, power reliability is a critical challenge at rural healthcare centers in developing countries. Water Mission is a recognized WASH sector leader in designing and implementing solar-powered pumping solutions that sustain water services despite a lack of reliable power.  

Finally, water treatment solutions are only as effective as the systems in place to adequately and routinely test and monitor the water quality. Water quality testing can be done with simple, easy-to-use, low-cost products. Basic training empowers healthcare providers to test their own water and ensure it continues to be safe to use. 

In closing, improving WASH in healthcare facilities does not hinge on scientific or technological breakthroughs, but on an integrated approach to WASH and health systems strengthening. At Water Mission, we are working to facilitate multi-stakeholder collaboration and community engagement and prioritizing WASH at the community, district, and national levels. Together, we can address the need for WASH in healthcare facilities around the world and solve one of the most serious issues facing global health.  

Give Today

The post From Ebola to COVID-19: Advocating for and Supplying WASH Programs and Infrastructure in Healthcare Facilities appeared first on Water Mission.

To be a refugee is to endure unimaginable trauma. Even the most basic of resources are never guaranteed, and life is marked by uncertainty.  

As the global refugee population increased from 70 million to 80 million in 2020, the devastating COVID-19 pandemic also stopped essential, lifesaving services for refugees seeking safety from war, violence, and persecution.  

Since 2015, Water Mission has been on the front lines, providing safe water, sanitation, and hygiene solutions to men, women, and children in refugee settlements and at the Ugandan border. The generosity of our supporters and dedication of our partners allowed Water Mission to serve more than 460,000 refugees in Ugandan settlements in 2020—an increase of more than 40% from 2019. 

Working collaboratively with trusted partners including the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), UNICEF, the Ugandan Ministry of Health, and others, we have continued to expand our programs. We have also developed new technologies to serve as many refugees as possible, as quickly as possible. 

Of the settlements in northern Uganda, Rhino Camp is usually the destination for new refugees, most of whom are South Sudanese. Before 2020, there was no reliable, accessible safe water in Rhino Camp. The spread of COVID-19 in this overcrowded, under-resourced settlement exposed and heightened the dire need for safe water. 

Cecilia, a 62-year-old resident of Rhino Camp, described to our team some of the most difficult aspects of her experience. “For a long time, we suffered from a lack of safe water,” she said. “The only available water was a very long distance from us. At my age, that distance was a very big problem, considering I have no one to help me. Congestion at the only water access point meant long hours…and losing time that could have been used to do other household chores.” 

“While we were still dealing with the distance to the only water point,” Cecilia continued, “the COVID-19 pandemic started, causing panic…mainly because disease prevention required safe water for constant handwashing.” 

In 2020, the partnership of supporters like you enabled Water Mission’s Uganda team to: 

• Find sustainable water sources in two new locations in Arua District, where Rhino Camp is located. 
• Lay over six miles of pipelines to distribute safe water throughout the settlement. 
• Build 10 new tap stands, complete with multiple faucets for safe, efficient water collection. 
• Upgrade 40 existing tap stands, bringing safe water close to home for thousands of refugees. 
• Restore an artesian well that yields approximately 13,000 gallons (49,210 liters) of water per hour—meeting the needs of more than 10,000 refugees in one section of Rhino alone. 
• Improve several water systems’ chlorine treatment processes, mitigating the possibility of contamination or recontamination of water. 

The spread of COVID-19 created unprecedented challenges, requiring our Uganda team to rapidly adapt implementation strategies to include new health and safety guidelines. Our highly skilled and innovative staff quickly implemented social distancing practices at water points, devised health and hygiene education campaigns for more than 50,000 refugees, and installed 8,000 basic handwashing stations (called “tippy taps”).  

Your support also enabled us to provide relief to 3,500 Congolese refugees stranded at the Ugandan border amid COVID-19. A temporary safe water source, latrines, and handwashing stations were provided to the refugees as they followed quarantine orders at the border prior to entry into Uganda.  

“I am glad that Water Mission extended water service to our area…amid [the COVID-19 pandemic]. Now, I can say that my life and that of the entire community has been easier with regard to access to safe water. It only takes me about five minutes to walk to the water access point…fetching water has never been easier.” 

– Cecilia, resident of Rhino Camp 

Every day, individuals like Cecilia living in Rhino Camp and in settlements around the world are doing the exhausting, arduous work of rebuilding their lives, homes, and families in an unfamiliar new country. All of this must be done with limited resources and under the weight of serious trauma. Finding the strength, hope, and healing to survive these circumstances demonstrates a resilience beyond what most of us can imagine. 

Our team is committed to meeting the physical need for safe water, sanitation, and hygiene in the most difficult of environments, and to sharing hope through safe and Living Water. We will continue to innovate, learn, and grow our work to serve even more refugees—and your support makes this possible. Thank you for partnering with us as we walk alongside individuals facing what may be the most challenging days of their lives.  

Give safe water today 

The post Bringing God’s Love and Safe Water to Refugees in Uganda appeared first on Water Mission.

2020 opened with the start of the global COVID-19 pandemic—introducing even more urgent needs for safe water and fresh challenges to providing that access. Yet with your support and prayers, Water Mission was able to serve more people in this difficult year than ever before.

Together, we delivered safe water, sanitation, and hygiene solutions to over 1.6 million people around the world. While we quickly developed new protocols and specific solutions to meet COVID-related needs, we also accelerated our ongoing work in rural communities, crowded refugee settings, and in response to natural disasters. Our 400 staff members, based at our U.S. headquarters and in nine permanent country programs, worked tirelessly to deliver access to safe water throughout East Africa, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

While 2.2 billion people still lack access to clean, safe water, you are helping us change that number. Since our founding in 2001, we have served nearly 7 million people across 57 countries.

The global water crisis came into sharp focus this year, as the COVID-19 pandemic further illustrated the desperate need for specific hygiene behaviors that rely on access to safe water and appropriate sanitation.

With God’s blessings, your support, and the commitments of corporate and government partners, 2020 was a year of growth and innovation for Water Mission. Here’s a snapshot of what we accomplished together:

Responding to a Double Disaster in Honduras 

Hurricanes Eta and Iota swept through Honduras and Central America in November 2020, leaving similar paths of destruction just three weeks apart. In Honduras, these storms affected more than 3 million people and displaced nearly 180,000 from their homes. Agricultural communities were hit the hardest, with homes submerged and crops ruined.

Water Mission responded swiftly, trucking in safe water from our country office in Tocoa to emergency shelters and impacted communities. Our immediate response included distributing water purification packets, donated by P&G, and hundreds of hygiene kits with critical supplies such as face masks, sanitizer, and toilet paper. Water Mission staff quickly repaired any safe water systems that were damaged by the storm, building in enhanced protections from future storms and flooding. As part of our long-term commitment to these communities, we have installed 24 brand-new safe water solutions to-date.

Leveraging Solar Power to Build Back Better in the Bahamas 

Water Mission has been working in the Bahamas throughout 2020, designing long-term solutions for communities devastated by the Category 5 Hurricane Dorian last fall. In Marsh Harbour, we have been utilizing solar technology to help power municipal water systems. With grants from UNICEF and the Center for Disaster Philanthropy and the coordination of local authorities, we are integrating a large field of solar panels with the community power grid. This work will increase operational water production pump efficiency by up to 33% at each of Marsh Harbour’s 25 wells. Solar technology is a reliable and efficient way to help run local water systems. This approach demonstrates how Water Mission seeks to “build back better” after disasters with solutions engineered to be more resilient in the face of future storms.

Delivering Safe Water and Hygiene in the Midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic   

As COVID-19 began making its way around the world, our global staff quickly pivoted to provide hand washing stations, sanitation supplies, and hygiene education in every region where Water Mission serves. To date, more than 750,000 people have been given access to supplies such as safe water and soap. We have also installed over 8,300 hand washing stations in healthcare facilities, schools, refugee settings, government buildings, and existing safe water collection points.

In Tanzania, for example, we worked with the government to provide 300 new hand washing stations in hospitals and health centers and 100 stations at local prisons. With funding from the Azimuth World Foundation, we delivered 30 hand washing stations to 15 primary schools. We also partnered with UNICEF to install safe water systems in five hospitals—an especially dire need to protect both healthcare workers and patients.

Our Indonesia team designed new hand washing stations that are wheelchair accessible, to ensure everyone in the community had equal access. And in Northern Sumatra, a church partner leveraged our hygiene education resources to host a COVID-19 awareness training.

Under the leadership of our community development team, we designed these awareness materials to outline proper hand washing and other hygiene initiatives that can help curb the spread of the coronavirus. The materials are available to all of our country programs, written in local languages and featuring graphics that are easily understood.

Your faithful prayers and gifts, along with the generous support of partners like The Poul Due Jensen Foundation have made this work possible.

Reaching Rural Communities with Safe Water 

While we responded to headline-making global events, we also continued to provide long-term safe water solutions to communities around the world—often in rural, hard-to-reach places.

We work closely with local leaders to develop custom designs and business plans, and celebrate each time a project is officially commissioned to the community. In Sampuran, a remote Indonesian island, we had the chance to celebrate in early 2020 alongside members of the Mt. Carmel Bible Presbyterian Church from Singapore. The congregation helped to fund the safe water project for the 700 community members, and they personally visited the village for the commissioning. With access to safe water, local families are saved the often-lengthy trip to collect dirty water. Now, they have more time for work and school, and are no longer vulnerable to waterborne illnesses. That’s something to celebrate!

Accelerating Our Impact, Together 

We can’t end the global water crisis alone, but we can fight it together. Water Mission has continued collaborating with like-minded organizations around the world to accelerate our collective impact— sharing strategies and insights in personal conversations and global forums such as the World Water Week conference.

And although our international Walk for Water events had to be re-imagined for coronavirus safety, that didn’t stop friends like you from raising money and awareness for Water Mission. This year, we had 15 virtual Regional Walks with more than 2,800 participants in 35 countries, raising $550,000 to support our work.

Your prayers and generosity have made a difference every day, enabling us to serve people in often-forgotten communities like Sampuran, communities devastated by a natural disaster, and refugees fleeing violence.

Your commitment to fighting the global water crisis provides hope and opportunity along with access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene solutions. We are so grateful for your partnership in 2020!

Give Today 

The post 2020 Snapshot: Serving 1.6 Million People Around the World Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic  appeared first on Water Mission.

Life without water. A thought so unimaginable that when you realize communities lack access to clean, safe water for handwashing—even amid COVID-19—it makes you stop in your tracks.

How can this be? A resource so readily available to so many is still out of reach for nearly one-third of the world’s population. It’s a statistic that Water Mission and so many other organizations are dedicated to ending, including our new partner Azimuth World Foundation.

Water Mission’s Partnership with Azimuth World Foundation 

In March, our team embarked on a mission to ensure people around the world have access to handwashing supplies amid COVID-19.

We recently completed the installation of 30 handwashing stations at 15 primary schools in Kasulu, Tanzania. This project, generously funded by the Azimuth World Foundation, is part of our team’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The project is currently bringing safe water for handwashing to more than 20,000 students and teachers. 

“Providing school children and teachers in Kasulu, Tanzania, access to safe water for handwashing amid COVID-19 has been incredibly important,” said Mariana Marques, executive director of Azimuth World Foundation. “When schools are equipped with soap and water, students and teachers have an opportunity to stay healthy and go on with their work and education. Access to safe water impacts their present and their future—it saves lives.”

Before the completion of this project in Kasulu, most of these schools had few or no hygiene resources. According to UN Water, handwashing with soap is key in slowing the spread of viruses such as COVID-19. It brings us great joy to know that 20,000 students and teachers now have the opportunity to stay safe and healthy amid this pandemic.

“While this project will have a direct impact on the overall health of students and teachers within schools, it will also help promote handwashing education in the extended Kasulu communities,” said David Gerlach, country director of Water Mission’s Tanzania program. “Students and teachers can take what they learn about hygiene at school and share it with their families.”

Azimuth World Foundation’s partnership and dedication to providing communities with access to clean, safe water is one we value greatly. We are thankful for partners like Azimuth that share in our mission to serve our brothers and sisters around the world by bringing them safe water.

It’s evident to us—and so many other organizations—that partnerships are the only way to bring safe water to all. Someday, we hope that all will come together to ensure all people have access to clean, safe water—one of life’s most basic necessities.

Learn more about how you can help provide safe water.

The post Students and Teachers in Tanzania Now with Access to Safe Water for Handwashing Amid COVID-19  appeared first on Water Mission.

It’s no secret: The last eight months have been unusual for communities all over the world—navigating a pandemic safely, learning new social norms, and staying healthy and safe.

According to UN Water, handwashing with soap is key in slowing the spread of viruses such as COVID-19, and right now, only 60% of the world’s population has access to a basic handwashing facility.

Today, on #GlobalHandwashingDay—several months since Water Mission began its global COVID-19 response—our team is overjoyed to share that more than 750,000 people have been given access to handwashing supplies, such as safe water and soap.

Around the world, our teams have installed nearly 8,000 handwashing stations in a wide range of high-traffic areas, including healthcare facilities, schools, government buildings, markets, and even prisons. Our team members have witnessed communities thrive, even amid unprecedented circumstances such as COVID-19. Amid these trying times, basic resources offer hope.

This response has played a role in deepening our relationships with community leaders and influential partners including the Poul Due Jensen Foundation (Grundfos Foundation), that provided Water Mission with a $1.5 million grant to respond to COVID-19.

In every region where Water Mission serves, our global team of engineers, community development officers, and project managers have worked tirelessly to ensure communities are equipped with the necessary hygiene resources to stay safe during this pandemic.

Latin America and Caribbean Country Programs

Comprised of Water Mission’s country programs in Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, and Peru, our Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) program has collectively served more than 60,000 people with access to safe water for handwashing.

In partnership with the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), our LAC program has had the opportunity to educate children about the importance of handwashing with materials that feature characters from the animated show, “Superbook.”

Hector Chacon, country director for Water Mission’s program in Honduras, was recently interviewed on CBN Latin America to discuss his team’s COVID-19 response and the use of this inspiring handwashing resource.

Africa Country Programs

Throughout East Africa, our country programs in Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, and Uganda have been hard at work installing handwashing stations in vulnerable communities—including refugee settings.

With praise from national governments—including the Ministers for Health in both Tanzania and Uganda—our teams have had the opportunity to serve more than 670,000 people.

“On behalf of the Tanzanian government, I would like to thank Water Mission for complementing government efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Their contribution entails preventing the spread of the disease in health facilities… The biggest thing that health professionals need to focus on is to ensure that they wash their hands to prevent contracting and transmitting infectious diseases. This initiative by Water Mission’s program in Tanzania ensures that happens.”

–Ummy Mwalimu, Minister of Health, Tanzania – National broadcast, April 23, 2020, translated from Swahili

Rural healthcare workers were also thankful to receive handwashing stations to ensure they could provide safe care to their patients.

“As a hospital, we appreciate what Water Mission is doing because this will make it easier for us to address the fears and anxiety among our people,” says Lilian Omandi, a doctor at St. Jude Hospital in Kitalale, Kenya. “For you to come here shows how much we are loved and cared for.”

Southeast Asia Program

Our Indonesia country program has provided handwashing stations for nearly 18,500 people. This team even led the charge in installing handwashing stations that are wheelchair accessible.

Socially distanced handwashing stations were also installed at hospitals, government buildings, and existing safe water collection points. Working diligently to ensure people were served with love, excellence, and integrity, our Indonesia team traveled near and far to ensure communities were able to stay safe and healthy amid COVID-19.

Ending the Global Water Crisis

As COVID-19 continues to impact our world, global teams are still working to implement safe water projects to help put an end to the global water crisis which leaves 2.2 billion without safe drinking water. It’s an urgent and enormous task—one we are committed to help solve.

On this #GlobalHandwashingDay, we invite you to learn more about how you can pray for and support our teams as they continue to provide access to clean, safe water for handwashing and so many other basic needs.

LEARN MORE

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World Humanitarian Day is a day of global celebration of “people helping people,” according to the United Nations. This year’s day falls on August 19 and pays special tribute to those who are selflessly serving others on the front lines: #RealLifeHeroes. Their contributions remain significant as the world continues to fight the spread of COVID-19.   

At Water Mission, we’re driven by God’s love and power in all that we do. Our ministry relies on His strength encouraging us to serve others by helping to bring clean, safe water to people around the world. We‘re thankful for the daily efforts of our global staff, partners, and all humanitarians around the world who strive to serve others, especially during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.   

A Mission to End the Global Water Crisis  

As a nonprofit Christian engineering organization, Water Mission is an organization of Christ-followers guided by love, excellence, and integrity who all serve in unison every day to end the global water crisis. More than 350 global Water Mission staff design, build, and implement safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) solutions for over 5 million people in 56 countries.  

Most of our staff work in countries where they’ve made amazing progress at installing thousands of handwashing stations in healthcare facilities, schools, and more. Additionally, they are actively engaging vulnerable communities across four continents, educating people on the importance of disease prevention with trainings, distributing materials in local languages, and more.   

A New Hero to Join the Fight Against COVID-19 

What better way to honor and celebrate these real-life heroes by pairing them with the animated “Superbook” hero, Gizmo, from the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN). As part of a partnership agreement with CBN, Water Mission global staff educates children on the importance of handwashing and God’s agape love to children around the world.  

Gizmo and friends encourage children in two new “Superbook” handwashing posters the importance of washing hands and other preventive best practices to limit COVID-19 exposure. This is particularly important in under-resourced communities where children and extended families often share one common space, making it difficult to social distance. This distribution of handwashing posters and other factors, such as a lack of safe water and handwashing, will continue to be focus areas for Water Mission in the communities where we serve. 

Join Water Mission as we continue to provide urgently needed solutions to at-risk communities during COVID-19. 

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The post World Humanitarian Day: Recognizing the Importance of Heroes in the Global Fight Against COVID -19 appeared first on Water Mission.

Proper handwashing is one of the most effective ways to contain the spread of the coronavirus in healthcare settings–protecting medical staff, patients, and hospital visitors from disease transmission. 

But in places like Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, many hospitals and clinics do not have adequate handwashing facilities or a steady supply of safe water. 

“After visiting hospitals in Tanzania, I realized how necessary immediate action was, as many healthcare settings don’t have reliable access to safe water and proper handwashing facilities,” said Benjamin Filskov, Water Mission’s country director in Tanzania. 

In coordination with the Tanzanian government and the Poul Due Jensen Foundation, Water Mission has installed nearly 470 handwashing stations in hospitals and health centers throughout Tanzania. We installed nearly 290 additional handwashing stations throughout the country at water access points, markets, prisons, and other locations.

Despite restrictions and changes brought on by COVID-19, Water Mission continues to ensure that safe water is flowing for families, healthcare professionals, and other community members in Tanzania. While many relief organizations and service providers have halted or slowed the delivery of essential goods and services, our teams are hard at work to provide safe water, sanitation, and hygiene solutions during the pandemic. 

“I just wanted to thank you for all the excellent, life-saving project work that Water Mission is doing in Tanzania. I am receiving good reports about successful and sustainable projects from multiple managers in Kigoma and the country. The implementation of essential water projects across the country is challenged and disrupted because contractors and partners are discontinuing their activities due to the global COVID-19 situation. Thank you for Water Mission’s commitment to maintaining operations despite seeing other partners and contractors cease theirs.”

 

You can join our ongoing COVID-19 response and help us install more handwashing stations and safe water solutions around the world.  

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The post Stop COVID-19 from Spreading in Hospitals: Soap and Safe Water Needed Now  appeared first on Water Mission.

What I love about my job is that I get to see how the global Church responds to crises like COVID-19, demonstrating the good news of the gospel. While the pandemic has brought the world to its knees, church leaders and members around the world are living out their calling as the hands and feet of Christ.  

In Northern Sumatra, Indonesia, one of Water Mission’s church partners hosted a COVID-19 awareness training and handwashing demonstration. The educational program and resources that Water Mission developed and that the church helped to implement are essential to combating the spread of the virus. 

At this educational program, the congregation was also able to share about Jesus’ redemptive love. After attending the training and hearing God’s word, local community leaders committed to providing safe water containers for the community’s handwashing needs. 

Reflecting on their partnership with Water Mission, a pastor said, “People can get safe water that is close to home. We are happy because we can live healthy lives. Now, we have access to safe water and we know how to wash our hands properly.” The adults and children in the congregation can wash their hands before entering the church because Water Mission has provided handwashing facilities.

With your faithful support and prayers, Water Mission can share safe water and the Living Water with thousands more people in some of the most under-resourced communities in the world. Together, we can be salt and light during a difficult time. 

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The post Water Mission and Local Churches Partner to Halt COVID-19  appeared first on Water Mission.